Vandyke brown
- noun
- /ˈvændaɪk braʊn/
- Specialized
:
marrón Vandyke
- The artist mixed Vandyke brown with other colors to achieve a natural effect.
Examples
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She prefers Vandyke brown for shading in her portraits.
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The frame was stained in Vandyke brown to match the vintage décor.
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The artist chose Vandyke brown for the background.
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I love using Vandyke brown in my paintings.
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The artist chose a rich Vandyke brown to give depth to the portraits.
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For the landscape, she used Vandyke brown to capture the warmth of the autumn leaves.
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In his latest painting, he mixed Vandyke brown with lighter shades to create a stunning contrast.
Synonyms
939
1.0
Having a medium to dark color like wood or tanned skin
18
1.0
A deep brown color like wood or earth
2
1.0
A dark shade of brown like chocolate
1
6.7
A medium to dark brown color with a slight red tone used in painting
How Dark
Surface Forms
Morphology
Vandyke + brown
The headword is a proper name combined with the color noun 'brown', so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes a type or shade of brown. Naming colors after people is a common compositional pattern, so the core meaning (a deep/moderate brown color) is directly derivable even if the historical reference to Van Dyck is unknown.
Etymology
Vandyke brown gets its name from the painter Anthony Van Dyck, who in the 1600s used a rich, dark brown in his portraits. Because that deep brown was so linked to his work, the name came to mean 'a deep brown color' used in painting.